The 2004 SDMB NHL Playoff Hockey Thread

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
62

To be fair, the Lightning management reserve 200 seats at $8 to be sold at 9 am on game days. This is to allow folks who could not otherwise afford to see a game to stand on line and then get these tickets. Otherwise playoff tickets start at $37.50 for the “cheap seats” and shoot up quickly from there*. I kind of like the idea, especially as the arena is near some of Tampa’s poorest neighborhoods. And I know that last night’s game was sold out, although there were a few seats left for game 1. I don’t know about game 2.

As for attendance, in the Tampa Bay area right now this is the best time of year, weatherwise, and there are a ton of things to do. So there is a lot of competition for focus. But what is encouraging was what I saw at The WingHouse last night, a chain of bars sort of like Hooters but with better food and cuter girls/women and, most importantly, more TV screens to watch the game. It was as busy as I’ve seen the place, including NFL games, and most folks were there to cheer for the Lightning.

*Prices for individual game, Round 2 playoff tickets:

Upper Level tickets : $37.50 - 87.00
Club Level tickets : $88.50 - 142.50
Plaza Level tickets : $103.50 - $277.50

In Canadian, that’s $50.45 - $117.04, $119.06 - $191.71, $139.24 - 373.32. Which might explain why there are occasionally some empty seats.

63

Shaping up to be a major bloodbath today.
New Jersey, gone.
Nashville, gone.
Dallas, gone.

Boston and Calgary can close out tonight also, leaving only Toronto / Ottawa.

Who woke Detroit up? Although they only scored in the first 2 minutes of the game, and after that I wasn’t that impressed, but then I was watching only when the Avs game was at commercials. CuJo is showing his critics he can play, they could be trouble (big suprise).

And who the hell is Marek Svatos? Where have they been hiding him(I know he’s been hurt, it was rhetorical)? Veterans are stepping up for Colorado too, like they should have all year, 19 goals in 5 games. Wish we had Kariya back, and I hope the break lets Tanguay heal up. The Avs are awake and in the game now.

I can’t help but pull for Calgary in their series. As an Avs fan, I have a newfound and deep hatred for all that is Vancouver and the cowards who play there (hockeywise, I am sure the residents of that fine city are as nice as can be). They also seem to have the edge, up 3-2 and at home. They also determine who the Avs play next round. I am not sure if I want Detroit, who seem to have woke up, or San Jose, who look to be on the top of their game right now. Should mean some good hockey though.

And whats with pulling your goalie with 6 minutes left? 3 yes, possibly 4, but six? Pretty much guarantees a couple shots at least at an empty netter. It’s all good though, Colorado is movin’ on.

Boston/Montreal tied at 1 right now. Boston looks to be in control though. Could the Canadiens be #4 today?

And Blues fans. Mike Danton, WTF? Was the FBI waiting for them to be eliminated, or is the timing just wierd?

64

I am completely impressed with Svatos. Three consecutive assists in addition to an OT goal earlier in the series? Unbelievable. Judging from the Avs/Stars game today, this guy could be big…

Considering how well Turkey, err, Turco, played, maybe emptying the net with six minutes left wasn’t such a bad idea.

I’m pulling for Calgary as well. I don’t want Colorado to meet the Wings juuuust yet. (Besides, an Avs/Wings conference final? Whaaaat! Talk about drama. Though I’d be happy if the Wings got knocked out in the semis. :))

65

That is nice; but I question whether they really did it to allow low income fans to attend the game or just to fill in empty seats?? If any Canadian team did that I suspect that fans would be lining up for those tickets at least a week in advance (I know I would be there).

Way to go Monteral tonite, should be a great game seven.

Looking forward to the Calgary game tonite, should be the best of the playoffs yet.

66

I’ll be going to watch the Vancouver/Calgary game in a few minutes (Centre Ice is about the best thing ever invented) and while I don’t really have a dog in that fight, I think Vancouver’s going to come up and force a Game 7. Let’s see if my gut feeling comes true. (Playoff gut feeling meter: 4 for 5 matchups.)

Spezza, any relation to the Ottawa wunderkind? :smiley:

67

Rock Altoid anything is possible.

Calgary your killin’ me. 4-1??? Let’s go flames!! (Although, it was probably was a high stick.)

68

What an exciting hockey game and the best part was no commercials. I love how CBC goes commercial-free when it comes to overtime, the game just seems to flow so much more.

Too tired to say much more except:

2 game sevens monday night? Woo Hoo!!! :slight_smile:

69

Woo hoo! Despite blowing their 4-goal lead, the Canucks won in triple OT to force game 7! With Montreal winning too, all I have to hope for is an Ottawa win tomorrow night. And of course wins in game 7 from all three, but there’s no point in getting too far ahead of myself.

70

Let’s not disparage Turco kids. Tweren’t his fault. From what I saw, Colorado had all sorts of time to shoot, and a far amount of space to boot. Who knew Dallas defense would wilt so completely?

I for one am glad that at least the 8th ranked teams are out of this. Any more cinderella speculation and I was going to eat a pair of glass slippers

Detroit managed to wrap up it’s series because they finally nullified Nashvilles speed, and by speed I mean cherry picking. I’m not saying they didn’t have good speed, but nearly all of the times that Nashville got behind Detroits defense, it was because they sent a guy up ice to wait for the puck. It also didn’t hurt that Detroit put the puck where Vokouns mouth was.

Now the question of who the wings play next. Can’t deny I’m not looking forward to an early series vs. Colorado. It’ll be more dramatic in the conference finals. :smiley:

71

The Sainte Flanelle just beat Boston 2-0. Out of 30 match-up in post-season series, Montreal won 23 of them. They also made team history with this serie by being the first time they came back from a 3-1 deficit to win it. Boston also made team history, being the first time they blew a 3-1 lead.

72

And now the press wants Thornton to hand in his “C.” It’s gonna be an ugly summer in Boston. The mighty bruins have struck out.

The truly disgusting part is that two lower seeded teams have made it in, so now we have another two weeks of “cinderella” crap to put up with.

Detroit gets Calgary, and this is another series that the wings should win. Depth is the big factor here. Detroit simply has more talent than Calgary. The two things that lean in the Flames direction are coaching and goaltending. I’ll say wings in 6, but an upset is not out of the question.

As for San Jose/Colorado, I have to vote against the Avs again. I still don’t think that they have the depth. Once you get past the usual suspects (Forsberg, Sakic, Hejuk, Tanguay) there just isn’t a lot there. They practically rebuilt their entire blue line around the trade deadline. As long as the Sharks don’t fold like Dallas, they’ll take this one in 6. Why do I have a feeling I’m going to be saying the same thing about the Avs all the way to the conference finals?

73

You can say the same thing about the Red Wings that you say about the Avs. The Wings are incredibly talented - but they’re incredibly old and slow. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that they’ll not win the Cup. Nashville almost knocked them out, and the Preds aren’t exactly a powerhouse.

Pity the Flyers still don’t know who they’re playing …

74

Nice series. While I’m excited the Lightning get a seven seed next, I’m also nervous. All our French-Canadians are incredibly cranked about playing back home (St. Louis, Lecavalier, Richards, etc). I read that we split the season series with them 4-4, both teams winning once on the road. So it should be a very exciting match up. If I can’t get to the game this Friday night I’ll at least get out to watch it. This is really a lot of fun!

75

They only have themselves to blame. They should have kept him on the bench for this serie, letting his injury heal properly and use his absence as a motivating agent for the rest of the team.

It is not “Cinderella crap”. It is fate in motion. Les Glorieux are on the move again to fulfill their destiny ! :smiley:

76

originally posted by dantheman

Yup, in the last two games against Nashville the wings looked real old and knocked out.

While I admit that Yzerman, Chelios, Hull, Thomas, and possibly even Shanahan are no spring chickens, they aren’t exactly washed up either. That still leaves Lidstrom, Schneider, Hatcher, Dandenault, Fischer, Lang, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Draper, Maltby, McCarty, and Whitney; not to mention those amongst the “black aces”-Deveraux, Williams, Mowers, Rivers, and Woolley. Calling the Wings old has been a recurring theme through all of their playoff runs. Find something new, such as goaltending or coaching.

Now, I was questioning the Avalanches depth. That has really always been a sore spot with them and this year is no exception. Despite the addition of Kariya and Selanne, they still rely on Forsberg, Sakic, Tanguay, and Hejduk. Everybody else pretty much warms the bench for them. It could even be worse this year because, as I said, they rebuilt their blue line right around the trade deadline.

I’m not trying to say that Colorado doesn’t have a chance at this. What I am saying is that their current line up is far from the powerhouse of previous years. Tony Granato is not Bob Hartley or Marc Crawford. David Aebischer is not Patrick Roy. Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya are not Chris Drury and Adam Deadmarsh. If San Jose sits back and plays a defensive game (a la Minnesota), I just don’t think the Avs have the depth or the character to win.

77

I’ll stick with the age angle. It’s the one that works every year. You may recall they didn’t do so hot last season.

The Wings probably should have swept that series, anyway. They were going up against a less-talented team that lacked any real playoff experience.

78

GOING TO THE LEAFS-SENS GAME TONITE!!!

Just had to brag about it! Go Leafs Go!

(Way to go Calgary last nite. That was a horrible goal for Vancouver with 5 seconds left. I cannot believe how badly the ref’s are doing there job this year, it’s absolutely pathetic.)

79

I would like wish Pat Burns a complete and speedy recovery from his cancer. And, is it just me or does Burns bear a striking resemblance to a younger Scotty Bowman?

I’m not going to call the Wings old, but how many of the players you have listed are under the age of 30? 2 maybe 3?

80

I just had a happy thought. Leafs win tonight (3-1 leafs right now) and move on to beat Philly. Montreal beats Tampa leading to an all canadian east final. For the west, Wings v. Colorado. Toronto and Detroit move on giving the NHL an Original 6 finals :smiley:

That would make me very happy.

81

Ha!